1969 Dodger Charger 500 - HomeBuilt 500

Back in 2005, Pat Fletcher and his wife Donna took a summer cruise. "I was driving a '68 Road Runner to the local cruise night, and it was 90-something degrees out and we were bouncing around the street and sweating," he recalls. "I said, 'I've got to build something really nice with all the creature comforts in it, and keep that old-school look.'"

A Mopar lover and mechanic by trade, Pat soon followed up on his idea. A friend of his in Calgary had a rust-free '69 Charger, and Pat new it would be the perfect base to start his project. "The car was originally from Las Vegas," says Pat. "He was going to build another Dukes of Hazzard car but gave up on the idea." A deal was made and Pat went 800 miles to get it. "I saved the world from another General Lee," he adds.

There were other clues to its desert past. As Pat recalls, "When we put it on the rotisserie and tipped it upside down, out of the back fell a big red dice from Circus Circus and a playing card!"

Next, Pat got some big RT/S rims and Dunlop Sport rubber for each corner. "I actually bought those before I started on the car," says Pat. "I made the car fit the wheels."

He also made it into a Charger 500 by mounting a '68 Coronet grille flush with the front fenders, just like the originals. For the rear glass and body plug, Pat used something you'd never expect. "That was from a '74 Vega hatchback," says Pat. "At Mopars at the Strip, everybody who saw it freaked out--they couldn't believe it was so close," he says of the Fisher Body piece, fished from a salvage yard, which was only 1/8 inch off the factory Mopar dimensions.

Two factory features disappeared while Pat did his metalwork: the creases between the Charger's beltline and rocker panels that he smoothed out with a hammer and dolly.

Underneath, the original suspension also went away, a swap that Pat says was the hardest part of the project. "I added the four-link out back, and Magnumforce tubular A-arms," he says, "and I added XV suspension bars to the front, and I have Shockwave air springs at all four corners to raise and lower the car."

With the chassis done and primer on, Pat was hit with a double heartache. His son Dereck was diagnosed with liver cancer, and a month later Donna was diagnosed with breast cancer. Both started chemotherapy, and while Donna eventually recovered, Dereck--who'd helped his Dad on the build--passed away.

Pat stopped work on the Charger, selling it unfinished a year and a half later.

One month after that, the buyer offered to sell it back, and soon it was back in Pat's shop, awaiting an engine, interior, and paint.

Pat wanted to use a modern Hemi, but instead of a salvage-yard one, he chose a Mopar Performance 6.4L Hemi crate engine. "The way I went, it's awesome," he says. "You just plug everything in, then fire it up." He adds, "They dyno them for you before they're shipped--there was gas in the fuel rails when I got it out of the crate."

Backing the 6.4L Hemi is an A-518 overdrive automatic and a 4.10-geared Dana 60.

For the cabin, Pat did go the salvage-yard route, thanks to a buddy who owned one. Pat says, "A good friend of mine, Jeff Williams, said 'I just got in this mint '04 Chrysler 300 that was T-boned, but you can have the whole interior. Help yourself!'" Pat mined the 300 for its seats, power windows, overhead console, and more. "I got everything that I could possibly get, and we modified the seats to work," he adds.

What's his Charger like to drive? "It's really nice," says Pat. "I think the airbags are a little rougher riding than coilovers. It's so nice to be able to pull into a car show, then lower it--or raise it, if there are speed bumps."

Body: Rust-free '69 Charger unibody was converted to a Charger 500 and prepped for paint by Patrick, who also shaved off the factory crease along the sides

Paint: Pat also sprayed on the PPG Black, in basecoat/clearcoat form

Interior: Kildonan Auto in Winnipeg, supplied an '05 Chrysler 300's front seats, consoles, and one-touch power windows, and Otto's Custom Upholstering in Beausejou, Manitoba grafted them in. Gauges are by AutoMeter, the 600-watt sound system is by Pioneer, and HVAC is by Vintage Air.